Communication control method and information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A communication control method is for performing a process executed by a computer including a processor. The process includes storing, in a storage device of an information processing apparatus, a correspondence relationship of a first user, a second user associated with the first user, and a third user associated with the second user; receiving, at the information processing apparatus, a message from the first user to the third user, from a terminal of the first user; and sending, by the information processing apparatus, the message received from the terminal of the first user as a message from the second user, to a terminal of the third user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The Present Invention Relates to a communication control method and aninformation processing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Sales activities performed by using a messenger function of SNS (SocialNetwork Service), e-mails, etc., are becoming popular. Usage of amessenger function, etc., is advantageous in that messages can bedirectly sent to a terminal such as a smartphone of a customer.

When using a messenger function of SNS, etc., by sending messages fromthe terminal of a salesperson having a relationship with a customer, itis possible to communicate closely with the customer. Therefore, it ispreferable that messages having the salesperson as the transmissionsource, are sent from the terminal of the salesperson, to the terminalof the customer. In this case, the message from the organization towhich the salesperson belongs, is first transferred to the terminal ofthe salesperson, and then sent from the terminal of the salesperson tothe terminal of the customer.

Methods by which the salesperson uses different transmission sourceinformation items for mails, etc., by using disclosed addresses, areimplemented (for example, Patent Document 1); however, the purpose ofthese mechanisms is to have different transmission source informationitems displayed at the recipients of messages. Thus, even when thesemethods are applied, messages need to be sent from the terminal of thesalesperson.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-157952

As described above, by using a messenger function of SNS, etc., it ispossible to communicate closely with the customer, and therefore themessages are preferably sent as messages from the salesperson, to theterminal of the customer.

However, when all messages relevant to sales activities of a store,etc., are sent via the terminal of the salesperson, it may be difficultto send the messages in a timely manner to the terminals of thecustomers, depending on the working status of the salesperson.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a communication control method and aninformation processing apparatus in which one or more of theabove-described disadvantages are eliminated.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided acommunication control method for performing a process executed by acomputer including a processor, the process including storing, in astorage device of an information processing apparatus, a correspondencerelationship of a first user, a second user associated with the firstuser, and a third user associated with the second user; receiving, atthe information processing apparatus, a message from the first user tothe third user, from a terminal of the first user; and sending, by theinformation processing apparatus, the message received from the terminalof the first user as a message from the second user, to a terminal ofthe third user.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus including a processor configured toexecute a process including storing, in a storage device, acorrespondence relationship of a first user, a second user associatedwith the first user, and a third user associated with the second user;receiving a message from the first user to the third user, from aterminal of the first user; and sending the message received from theterminal of the first user as a message from the second user, to aterminal of the third user.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program thatcauses a computer including a processor to execute a process performedin an information processing apparatus, the process including storing,in a storage device, a correspondence relationship of a first user, asecond user associated with the first user, and a third user associatedwith the second user; receiving a message from the first user to thethird user, from a terminal of the first user; and sending the messagereceived from the terminal of the first user as a message from thesecond user, to a terminal of the third user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system configuration of aninformation processing system according to a first embodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are for describing the relationship of an administrator,a person in charge, and a customer according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a computeraccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a terminalaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate examples of a correspondence relationshipmanagement table and a user attribute management table according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a state management table according tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a message management table according tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of theterminal according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 1);

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 2);

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate an example of operation proceduresaccording to the first embodiment (part 3);

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 4);

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 5);

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an example of operation proceduresaccording to the first embodiment (part 6);

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 7);

FIGS. 17A through 17C illustrate an example of operation proceduresaccording to the first embodiment (part 8);

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 9);

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 10);

FIGS. 20A through 20C illustrate examples of screen displays of theterminal according to the first embodiment (part 1);

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminalaccording to the first embodiment (part 2);

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate examples of screen displays of the terminalaccording to the first embodiment (part 3);

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminalaccording to the first embodiment (part 4); and

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminalaccording to the first embodiment (part 5).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment<Overview>

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system configuration of aninformation processing system 1 according to a first embodiment. Theinformation processing system 1 includes an information processingapparatus 10 and a plurality of terminals 20. The information processingapparatus 10 and the terminals 20 are connected via a network 2. Thenetwork 2 includes a wired network and a wireless network.

The information processing apparatus 10 is realized by, for example, aserver. The terminal 20 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC(Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a game console, a touch pad, anelectronic book reader, a wearable terminal, etc.

The information processing apparatus 10 provides SNS (Social NetworkService) to the users of the terminals 20. By installing an applicationof SNS in the terminal 20 and connecting to the information processingapparatus 10, the user of the terminal 20 is able to receive SNSprovided from the information processing apparatus 10.

Note that in the following embodiment, a case of using a service ofexchanging chat messages among users of SNS (chat service) is mainlydescribed; however, the present embodiment is also applicable to a caseof sending and receiving e-mails among users. Furthermore, the messagessent and received in the chat service include stamps, image data, videodata, etc., other than text messages.

The terminal 20 may receive SNS by using a web browser, etc., andconnecting to the information processing apparatus 10.

The information processing apparatus 10 provides a chat service, etc.,among users of SNS.

With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a description is given of theoverview of the first embodiment. FIGS. 2A and 2B are for describing therelationship of an administrator, a person in charge, and a customeraccording to the first embodiment.

In the following, the description is continued assuming that theterminal of the administrator is the terminal 20A, the terminal of theperson in charge is the terminal 20B, and the terminal of the customeris the terminal 20C. When reference is made to a terminal 20, thedescription is relevant to a mode that is common to the terminal 20A,the terminal 20B, and the terminal 20C.

FIG. 2A illustrates messages being sent to customers according to acomparative example. In the comparative example, an administratorbelonging to an organization A uses the terminal 20A to send a messagerelevant to sales activities of the organization A, to the terminals 20Cof the customers. A message relevant to sales activities is, forexample, information regarding the opening hours of a store, anintroduction of an article, a coupon that can be used at the store, etc.

The information processing apparatus 10 manages the correspondencerelationship of the administrator and the customer, and the messagesfrom the terminal 20A of the administrator are sent to the terminals 20Cof the customers, via the information processing apparatus 10. In thecomparative example, the administrator needs to send messages to theterminals 20C of all customers, and therefore the load of theadministrator is high. Furthermore, in the case of a job type ofconstructing a close relationship with the customer and proposing aservice, such as a hair salon, a real estate agency, a car dealer, adealer of financial products, etc., it has been difficult to provideservices having high added value.

FIG. 2B illustrates messages being sent to customers according to thefirst embodiment. In the first embodiment, the transmission source of amessage from the terminal 20A of the administrator to the customer, ischanged to the person in charge, and is then sent to the terminal 20C ofthe customer.

The correspondence relationship of the administrator, the person incharge, and the customer as illustrated in FIG. 2B, is stored andmanaged in the information processing apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1). Forexample, the correspondence relationship of an administrator A, a personin charge A, and a customer #1, a customer #2, and a customer #3 isstored in the information processing apparatus 10. Furthermore, forexample, the correspondence relationship of an administrator A, a personin charge B, and a customer #4, a customer #5, and a customer #6 isstored in the information processing apparatus 10.

Various messages relevant to sales activities of an organization towhich the person in charge belongs, are sent from the terminal 20B ofthe person in charge to the terminal 20C of the customer via theinformation processing apparatus 10. Furthermore, messages from theadministrator A to the customer are sent from the terminal 20A of theadministrator to the terminal 20C of the customer via the informationprocessing apparatus 10.

In this case, when the information processing apparatus 10 receives amessage from the terminal 20A of the administrator, the informationprocessing apparatus 10 changes the information of the transmissionsource to the person in charge corresponding to the customer using theterminal 20C that is the transmission destination, and sends the messageto the terminal 20C. For example, the information processing apparatus10 changes the information of the transmission source of a messageaddressed to a customer #N, from the administrator A to the person incharge Z, and sends the message for which the information of thetransmission source has been changed, to the terminal 20C. Accordingly,it is possible to send messages relevant to sales activities in a timelymanner, with the person in charge set as the transmission source of themessages.

When changing the information of the transmission source of a message,the information processing apparatus 10 may query the terminal 20B ofthe person in charge as to whether the change can be made. Accordingly,it is possible to prevent a situation where a message that is notconfirmed by the person in charge is distributed to terminals 20C ofcustomers.

Furthermore, in a case where the correspondence relationship of theadministrator, the person in charge, and the customer is stored in theinformation processing apparatus 10, when the information processingapparatus 10 receives, from the terminal 20A of the administrator, arequest to view messages sent and received between a person in chargeand a customer, the information processing apparatus 10 displays therequested messages at the terminal 20A. Accordingly, the administratoris able to recognize how the person in charge is handling a customer.

<Hardware Configuration>

Next, the hardware configurations of the devices included in theinformation processing system 1 are described.

(1) Information Processing Apparatus

The information processing apparatus 10 has a configuration of a generalcomputer. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of acomputer according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, a computer 300includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a RAM(Random Access Memory) 302, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 303, a storagedevice 304, an input device 305, a display device 306, a communicationI/F (Interface) 307, an external I/F 308, a bus 309, etc.

The CPU 301 is an arithmetic device for implementing control andfunctions of the computer 300, by loading programs and data from amemory such as the ROM 303 and the storage device 304 in to the RAM 302,and executing processes. The ROM 303 stores programs and data, such asBIOS (Basic Input/Output System) that is executed when the computer 300is activated, settings of OS (Operating System), various settings, etc.The RAM 302 is a volatile memory for temporarily holding programs anddata. The storage device 304 is a high-capacity storage device storingprograms and data.

The input device 305 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., whichis used by the user for inputting various operation signals. The displaydevice 306 is, for example, a display, etc., and displays processingresults by the computer 300. Note that the input device 305 and/or thedisplay device 306 may have a mode of being connected and used accordingto need.

The communication I/F 307 is an interface that connects the computer 300to the network 2. The external I/F 308 is an interface between thecomputer 300 and an external device. An example of the external deviceis an external storage medium 308 a. Accordingly, the computer 300 isable to read and/or write in the external storage medium 308 a via theexternal I/F 308. Examples of the external storage medium 308 a arevarious optical disks, various memory cards, etc.

The CPU 301 can realize the functions of the information processingapparatus 10 by executing programs stored in the ROM 303, etc.

-   -   (2) Terminal

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of theterminal 20 according to the first embodiment.

The terminal 20 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a storagedevice 204, an input output device 205, a communication I/F 206, and adisplay 207 (display device). Note that the hardware elements of theterminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus 208.

The storage device 204 stores various programs. The CPU 201 is acomputer for executing various programs stored in the storage device204.

The ROM 202 is a non-volatile memory. The ROM 202 stores variousprograms, data, etc., needed for the CPU 201 to execute various programsstored in the storage device 204.

The RAM 203 is a main storage such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random AccessMemory), a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), etc. The RAM 203functions as a work area that is expanded when various programs areexecuted by the CPU 201.

The input output device 205 includes functions of an input device forinputting various instructions to the terminal 20 and an output devicefor outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20. Theinput output device 205 is connected to a display 207. In the presentembodiment, the display 207 may be a touch reactive display (touchpanel). The communication I/F 206 performs communication between theterminal 20 and the information processing apparatus 10 via the network2.

The CPU 201 can realize the functions of the terminal 20 by executingprograms stored in the storage device 204, etc.

<Functional Configuration>

(1) Functional Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus

With reference to FIG. 5, a description is given of the functionalconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 10. FIG. 5illustrates an example of a functional configuration of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. Theinformation processing apparatus 10 includes a communication controlunit 110, a control unit 120, and an information storage unit 130. Thecontrol unit 120 includes a correspondence relationship setting unit121, a message processing unit 122, a display control unit 123, and astate update unit 124. Furthermore, the information storage unit 130includes a correspondence relationship management table 131, a userattribute management table 132, a state management table 133, a messagemanagement table 134, a service information storage table 135, and acontent management table 136.

The communication control unit 110 receives various signals such asmessages, requests for association, etc., from the terminal 20.Furthermore, the communication control unit 110 sends various signalssuch as messages, queries, etc., to the terminal 20, upon receivinginstructions from the control unit 120.

The control unit 120 executes various control operations with respect tothe functions of the information processing apparatus 10.

The correspondence relationship setting unit 121 registers acorrespondence relationship in the correspondence relationshipmanagement table 131, in response to the communication control unit 110receiving a request to set a correspondence relationship of the“administrator”, the “person in charge”, and the “customer”, from theterminal 20. When a request for association is received, thecorrespondence relationship setting unit 121 may query the user of theterminal 20, who is to be associated, as to whether the setting of thecorrespondence relationship can be executed. For example, the terminal20B of the person in charge may query the terminal 20A of theadministrator who is to be associated, as to whether the setting of thecorrespondence relationship may be executed, when the request forassociation is received.

The correspondence relationship setting unit 121 determines whether theattribute of the user of the terminal 20 is “administrator”, “person incharge”, or “customer”, by referring to the user attribute managementtable 132.

The correspondence relationship setting unit 121 deletes thecorrespondence relationship stored in the correspondence relationshipmanagement table 131, in response to the communication control unit 110receiving a request to delete the setting of the correspondencerelationship of the “administrator”, the “person in charge”, and the“customer”, from the terminal 20. When the correspondence relationshipis deleted, messages sent and received with the customer cannot beviewed from the terminal 20B of the person in charge.

When the communication control unit 110 receives a message from theterminal 20A of the administrator, the message processing unit 122stores the message in the message management table 134. Specifically,the transmission source, the destination, the transmission receptiontime and date, and the message content are stored in the messagemanagement table 134.

The message processing unit 122 refers to the correspondencerelationship management table 131, and changes the information of thetransmission source of the message, according to the transmissiondestination of the message. For example, when a message addressed to acustomer #1 is received from an administrator A, the message processingunit 122 refers to the correspondence relationship management table 131,identifies that the person in charge B is the person in chargeassociated with the customer #1, and sets the information of the personin charge B in the information of the transmission source of themessage. The information of the transmission source is, for example, theuser identifier, the user name, the mail address, etc., of the person incharge B.

The message processing unit 122 instructs the communication control unit110 to send the message for which the information of the transmissionsource has been changed, to the terminal 20 of the user that is thedestination.

The display control unit 123 determines whether it is acceptable toallow the terminal 20A of the administrator to view the transmissionreception status of messages of a specified person in charge, inresponse to the communication control unit 110 receiving a request toview messages of the person in charge, from the terminal 20A of theadministrator. The display control unit 123 refers to the correspondencerelationship management table 131, and when the administrator and theperson in charge are associated with each other, the display controlunit 123 determines that it is acceptable to allow the administrator toview the transmission reception status of messages.

When the display control unit 123 determines that it is acceptable toallow the administrator to view the transmission reception status ofmessages, the display control unit 123 causes the terminal 20A of theadministrator to display the transmission reception status of messages.

The state update unit 124 updates the state of the person in chargebeing managed in the state management table 133, in response to thecommunication control unit 110 accepting a report of the state of theperson in charge, from the terminal 20B of the person in charge. Thestate update unit 124 instructs the communication control unit 110 toreport the updated state to the terminal 20A of the administrator.

Here, the “state” is the state of the person in charge, such as “onduty”, “on break”, “on vacation”, etc. When the person in charge is in astate of being unable to respond to messages from a client, the stateupdate unit 124 may make a setting such that the terminal 20A of theadministrator responds to the messages on behalf of the person incharge. Furthermore, the state update unit 124 may make a setting suchthat another person in charge responds on behalf of the unavailableperson in charge. In this case, the state update unit 124 stores asetting of the substitution in the state management table 133, inresponse to the communication control unit 110 receiving a substitutionsetting request from the terminal 20A of the administrator. Thesubstitution setting request includes the identifier of the substituteperson in charge. The state update unit 124 reports this setting to theterminal 20 of the person who has been set as the substitute person incharge, via the communication control unit 110.

The information storage unit 130 stores various kinds of informationaccording to instructions from the control unit 120. Furthermore, theinformation storage unit 130 updates various kinds of informationaccording to instructions from the control unit 120.

(2) Tables Stored at Information Processing Apparatus

The information storage unit 130 stores the correspondence relationshipmanagement table 131, the user attribute management table 132, the statemanagement table 133, the message management table 134, the serviceinformation storage table 135, and the content management table 136. Theinformation elements stored in the tables are described with referenceto FIGS. 6A through 8.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a correspondence relationshipmanagement table 131 according to the first embodiment. As illustratedin FIG. 6A, the correspondence relationship management table 131 managesthe identifier of the administrator, the identifier of the person incharge, and the identifier of the customer, in association with eachother. An identifier is, for example, a user name, etc., in SNS. Thecorrespondence relationship management table 131 registers, updates, anddeletes a correspondence relationship, upon receiving an instructionfrom the correspondence relationship setting unit 121. In the example ofFIG. 6A, one administrator is registered; however, a plurality ofadministrators may be registered.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a user attribute management table 132according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the userattribute management table 132 manages the identifier of a user, theattribute of the user, and the organization to which the user belongs,in association with each other. As the attribute of the user, any one of“administrator”, “person in charge”, and “general” is set. When theattribute of the user is “administrator” or “person in charge”, theidentifier of the organization to which the user belongs is set in the“belonging organization” field.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the state management table 133according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the statemanagement table 133 manages the identifier of a person in charge, thestate of the person in charge, and the substitute person in charge, inassociation with each other. In response to the state update unit 124receiving a state from the terminal 20B of the person in charge, via thecommunication control unit 110, values are set in the field of the“person in charge” and the field of the “state of the person in charge”.In response to the state update unit 124 receiving a substitute settingrequest via the communication control unit 110, the state update unit124 sets the identifier of the substitute person in charge, in the fieldof “substitute person in charge”, in the state management table 133.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the message management table 134according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 8, in themessage management table 134, messages transmitted and received withcustomers are recorded, for each person in charge. In the field of thecustomer, an identifier of the customer associated with the person incharge is set. As the message ID, an identifier of the message sent andreceived with the customer, is set. As the transmission reception timeand date, the time when the terminal 20B of the person in charge hassent the message or the time when the terminal 20B of the person incharge has received the message is set. In the field of the transmissionsource, the identifier of the transmission source of the message isstored. As the content of the message, text, a stamp, a still image, avideo, a combination of these items, etc., included in the message, arestored.

In the field of the transmission source, the identifier of a customer,the identifier of a person in charge, or the identifier of anadministrator is set. With regard to a message having the administratoras the transmission source, the information of the transmission sourceis changed to information of a person in charge by the messageprocessing unit 122; the message processing unit 122 can identifywhether the message is sent from the terminal 20A of an administrator orthe message is sent from the terminal 20B of a person in charge, byreferring to the message management table 134.

In the service information storage table 135, information of theprovided service content is stored, for each organization to which auser belongs. When a request to display the service content is receivedfrom the terminal 20, the display control unit 123 refers to the serviceinformation storage table 135, identifies the service content, anddisplays the service content on a screen of the specified terminal 20.

In the content management table 136, the contents that the customer, theperson in charge, and the administrator are allowed to use, are stored.The content is stored in association with the identifier of thecustomer, the identifier of the person in charge, and the identifier ofthe administrator. The content is a stamp, a still image, a video, etc.The message processing unit 122 distributes the content to the specifiedaddress, upon receiving a request to distribute the content from theterminal 20. When the customer, the person in charge, and theadministrator have a correspondence relationship, the message processingunit 122 may send a content that the administrator and the person incharge are allowed to use, to the terminal 20C of the customer.

-   -   (3) Terminal

With reference to FIG. 9, a description is given of the functionalconfiguration of the terminal 20 according to the first embodiment. FIG.9 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of the terminal20 according to the first embodiment.

The terminal 20 includes a communication control unit 210, an acceptingunit 220, a control unit 230, and an information storage unit 240. Thecontrol unit 230 includes a display control unit 231 and a settingrequest unit 232. The information storage unit 240 includes acorrespondence relationship management table 241 and a messagemanagement table 242.

The communication control unit 210 receives a message to the user of theterminal 20 and various signals, from the information processingapparatus 10. Furthermore, the communication control unit 210 sendsmessages and various signals to the information processing apparatus 10,upon receiving instructions from the control unit 230.

The accepting unit 220 accepts input of messages and variousinstructions from the user to the terminal 20.

The control unit 230 controls the functions of the terminal 20. Thedisplay control unit 231 displays messages, etc., on the screen of theterminal 20. The setting request unit 232 instructs the communicationcontrol unit 210 to send, to the information processing apparatus 10, asetting request corresponding to a received instruction, in response tothe accepting unit 220 accepting the instruction from the user. Thesetting request is, for example, a request to set a correspondencerelationship of the administrator, the person in charge, and thecustomer, a substitute setting request, etc.

The information storage unit 240 stores various kinds of informationupon receiving an instruction from the control unit 230. Thecorrespondence relationship management table 241 and the messagemanagement table 242 are stored in the terminal 20, when the user of theterminal 20 is an administrator or a person in charge. The items managedin the correspondence relationship management table 241 and the messagemanagement table 242 are the same as the items managed in thecorrespondence relationship management table 131 and the messagemanagement table 134 of the information processing apparatus 10. In thecase of the terminal 20B of a person in charge, information relevant tothe person in charge who is the user of the terminal 20B, andinformation relevant to the administrator associated with the person incharge are stored. In the case of the terminal 20A of an administrator,information relevant to the administrator who is the user of theterminal 20A, and information relevant to the person in chargeassociated with the administrator are stored.

<Operation Procedures>

With reference to FIGS. 10 through 19, a description is given ofoperation procedures according to the first embodiment.

(1) Storage of Correspondence Relationship

With reference to FIG. 10, a description is given of operationprocedures of storing a correspondence relationship of the terminal 20Aof the administrator, the terminal 20B of the person in charge, and theterminal 20C of the customer. FIG. 10 illustrates an example ofoperation procedures according to the first embodiment (part 1).

In order to associate the terminal 20A of the administrator with theterminal 20B of the person in charge, either an associating process 1 oran associating process 2 is executed via the information processingapparatus 10. Here, the associating process 1 is a method of associatingan administrator A with an person in charge B by having the terminal 20Aof the administrator A generate a new identifier for a person in charge,and assigning the generated identifier to the person in charge B. Theassociating process 2 is a method of associating an administrator A withan person in charge B by having the terminal 20B of the person in chargeB report the identifier that is already assigned to the person in chargeB.

In step S1001, the associating process 1 is executed.

Specifically, in response to receiving a request to generate anidentifier for a person in charge from the terminal 20A of theadministrator A, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 generates an identifier for a personin charge, and stores the generated identifier in association with theidentifier of the administrator A. The correspondence relationshipsetting unit 121 sends information for assigning the generatedidentifier to the person in charge, to the terminal 20A of theadministrator A or the terminal 20B of the person in charge B, via thecommunication control unit 110. The information for assigning thegenerated identifier to the person in charge is, for example, a QRCode®, a URL, etc., and as the terminal 20B of the person in charge Baccesses this information, the identifier associated with theadministrator A, is assigned to the person in charge B. When theidentifier is assigned to the person in charge B, the correspondencerelationship setting unit 121 stores the administrator A and the personin charge B in association with each other in the correspondencerelationship management table 131. Here, the identifier assigned to theperson in charge B may include a character string set by theadministrator A. For example, information for identifying theorganization to which the person in charge B belongs, such as acharacter string “ABC_Salon”, etc., may be included.

In step S1002, the associating process 2 is executed.

Specifically, in response to receiving a request to associate theidentifier of the person in charge B with the administrator A from theterminal 20B of the person in charge B, the correspondence relationshipsetting unit 121 of the information processing apparatus 10 queries theterminal 20A of the administrator A as to whether the association can beapproved, via the communication control unit 110. When a response ofapproval is received, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121stores the administrator A and the person in charge B in associationwith each other, in the correspondence relationship management table131. Here, at the process of step S1002, a character string set by theadministrator A may be added to the identifier of the person in chargeB. For example, the character string to be added is information foridentifying the organization to which the person in charge belongs.

In step S1003, in response to the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20Cof the customer C accepting an instruction from the customer C, thecommunication control unit 210 sends an association request forrequesting the association with the person in charge B, to theinformation processing apparatus 10. The association request includes anidentifier for identifying the customer C and the identifier identifyingthe person in charge B. The communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives the association request.

In step S1004, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 instructs the communication controlunit 110 to send a signal of a query as to whether the associationrequest can be approved, to the terminal 20B of the person in charge B.The communication control unit 110 sends a signal of a query as towhether the association request can be approved, to the terminal 20B ofthe person in charge B.

In step S1005, in response to receiving the signal of a query as towhether the association request can be approved, the setting requestunit 232 of the terminal 20B of the person in charge B displays amessage prompting to determine whether to approve the associationrequest on a screen of the terminal 20B. In response to the acceptingunit 220 accepting an input indicating approval, the setting requestunit 232 instructs the communication control unit 210 to send a responseindicating approval. The communication control unit 210 sends theresponse indicating approval to the information processing apparatus 10.

In step S1006, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the response indicatingapproval, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 stores theperson in charge B and the customer C in association with each other inthe correspondence relationship management table 131.

In step S1007, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 refers to the user attributemanagement table 132, and identifies the administrator of theorganization to which the person in charge B belongs. Here, in thefollowing, the description is continued assuming that the organizationto which the person in charge B belongs is an organization A and thatthe administrator is an administrator A. The correspondence relationshipsetting unit 121 of the information processing apparatus 10 instructsthe communication control unit 110 to send a signal of a query as towhether the association of the person in charge B and the user C can beapproved, to the terminal 20A of the administrator A.

In step S1008, in response to the communication control unit 210 of theterminal 20A of the administrator A receiving the signal of a query asto whether the association can be approved, the setting request unit 232displays a message prompting to determine whether to approve theassociation request on a screen of the terminal 20A. In response to theaccepting unit 220 accepting an input indicating approval, the settingrequest unit 232 instructs the communication control unit 210 to send aresponse indicating approval. The communication control unit 210 sends aresponse indicating approval to the information processing apparatus 10.

In step S1009, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving a response indicatingapproval, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 stores thecorrespondence relationship of the administrator A, the person in chargeB, and the customer C, in the correspondence relationship managementtable 131.

In step S1010, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 reports that the correspondencerelationship of the person in charge B and the customer C has been set,to the terminal 20C of the customer C via the communication control unit110. In response to the communication control unit 110 of the terminal20C of the customer C receiving the report, the setting request unit 232stores the reported correspondence relationship in the correspondencerelationship management table 241. Furthermore, the setting request unit232 generates a talk room (talk room #1) that is chat group of theperson in charge B and the customer C.

In step S1011, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 reports that the correspondencerelationship of the administrator A, the person in charge B, and thecustomer C has been set, to the terminal 20B of the person in charge B,via the communication control unit 110. In response to the communicationcontrol unit 110 of the terminal 20B of the person in charge B receivingthe report, the setting request unit 232 stores the reportedcorrespondence relationship in the correspondence relationshipmanagement table 241. Furthermore, similar to the terminal 20C, thesetting request unit 232 generates a talk room (talk room #1) of theperson in charge B and the customer C.

In step S1012, the correspondence relationship is reported to theterminal 20A of the administrator A similar to step S1009, and thecorrespondence relationship is stored and the talk room (talk room #1)is generated.

In the above operation procedures, the execution of the process ofassociating the administrator A, the person in charge B, and thecustomer C is triggered by receiving the association request from theterminal 20C of the customer C. However, the association process can beexecuted by the same operation procedures, also in the case of receivingan association request from the terminal 20B of the person in charge B,and in the case of receiving an association request from the terminal20A of the administrator A.

When an association request is received from the terminal 20B of theperson in charge B, a query as to whether the association can beapproved is sent from the information processing apparatus 10 to theterminal 20A of the administrator A and the terminal 20C of the customerC. When approval is received from the terminal 20A and the terminal 20C,the correspondence relationship of the administrator A, the person incharge B, and the customer C is stored.

Furthermore, when an association request is received from the terminal20A of the administrator A, a query as to whether the association can beapproved is sent from the information processing apparatus 10 to theterminal 20B of the person in charge B and the terminal 20C of thecustomer C. When approval is received from the terminal 20B and theterminal 20C, the correspondence relationship of the administrator A,the person in charge B, and the customer C is stored.

(2) Transmission of Message from Terminal of Administrator

With reference to FIG. 11, a description is given of the procedures ofsending a message from the terminal 20A of the administrator A to theterminal 20C of the customer C. FIG. 11 illustrates an example ofoperation procedures according to the first embodiment (part 2). Theoperation procedures of FIG. 11 are executed by using the talk room #1generated by the operation procedures of FIG. 10.

In step S1101, in response to the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20Aof the administrator A accepting an input of a message to the customerC, the setting request unit 232 instructs the communication control unit110 to send this message to the information processing apparatus 10.Upon receiving the instruction, the communication control unit 210 sendsthe message to the information processing apparatus 10. This message is,for example, a message relevant to sales activities of the organizationA to which the administrator A belongs. An instruction to change thetransmission source of the message to the person in charge of thecustomer C, may be sent together with the message.

In step S1102, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the message, the messageprocessing unit 122 refers to the correspondence relationship managementtable 131, and identifies the person in charge associated with theadministrator A and the customer C. Here, in the following, thedescription is continued assuming that the person in charge B isidentified.

In step S1103, the message processing unit 122 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 instructs the communication control unit 110 tosend a signal of a query as to whether information of the transmissionsource of the message can be changed to the person in charge B. Thecommunication control unit 110 sends a signal of a query to the terminal20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1104, when the terminal 20B of the person in change B receivesthe signal of a query, the display control unit 231 displays a messageprompting to determine “whether the information of the transmissionsource can be changed to the person in charge B”, on the screen of theterminal 20B.

In step S1105, in response to the accepting unit 220 accepting input of“information can be changed” from the person in charge B, the settingrequest unit 232 instructs the communication control unit 210 to send aresponse indicating “information can be changed” to the informationprocessing apparatus 10. The communication control unit 210 sends aresponse indicating “information can be changed” to the informationprocessing apparatus 10.

In step S1106, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the response indicating“information can be changed”, the message processing unit 122 changesthe information of the transmission source of the message, to the personin charge B. Furthermore, the message processing unit 122 stores theinformation of the sent message in the message management table 134.Here, in the field of the transmission source, the user of the terminal20A that has actually sent the message, i.e., the identifier of theadministrator A, is set.

In step S1107, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to send the message, for which theinformation of the transmission source has been changed, to the terminal20C of the customer C. Upon receiving the instruction, the communicationcontrol unit 110 sends the message, for which the information of thetransmission source has been changed, to the terminal 20C of thecustomer C. Here, the message processing unit 122 may send a signalinstructing the display mode of this message, together with the message,to the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1108, when the communication control unit 210 of the terminal20C of the customer C receives the message, the display control unit 231displays the received message on the screen of the terminal 20C. Whenthe signal instructing the display mode of the message is received, thedisplay control unit 231 displays the message on the screen of theterminal 20C in the display mode according to the instruction.

Here, the instruction of the display mode of the message is, forexample, an instruction to display the message in a different displaymode than the message sent from the terminal 20B of the person in chargeB. Accordingly, it is possible for the customer C to distinguish betweenthe message from the person in charge B and the message from theadministrator A. Note that in order to prevent the customer C fromdistinguishing between the message from the person in charge B and themessage from the administrator A, for example, when the customer C is torecognize the message from the administrator A as a message from theperson in charge B, the display modes of the messages are notdifferentiated.

Note that in the operation procedures described above, the transmissionsource of the message is changed in response to accepting input of“information can be changed” from the person in charge B; however, thetransmission source may be automatically changed without querying theterminal 20B of the person in charge B. In this case, the procedures ofsteps S1103 through S1105 are omitted.

(3) Simultaneous Distribution of Message

With reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B, a description is given of operationprocedures relevant to the simultaneous distribution of a message. FIGS.12A and 12B illustrate an example of operation procedures according tothe first embodiment (part 3)

FIG. 12A illustrates operations performed when simultaneouslydistributing a message relevant to sales activities, for example,campaign information, etc., from the terminal 20A of the administrator Ato the terminal 20 of a customer associated with the person in charge.

When sending a message from the terminal 20 of the administrator to theterminal 20 of the customer via the terminal 20 of the person in charge,in a case where the customer is stored in association with a pluralityof persons in charge, the terminal 20 of the customer will receive thesame message from a plurality of persons in charge, which is notpreferable. Thus, in the operation procedures of FIG. 12A, transmissionof redundant messages is avoided.

In step S1201, in response to the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20Aof the administrator A accepting input of a simultaneous distributionmessage to be simultaneously distributed to customers with whom theperson in charge has a correspondence relationship, the communicationcontrol unit 210 sends the simultaneous distribution message to theinformation processing apparatus 10.

In step S1202, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the simultaneousdistribution message, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131 and extracts the personin charge having a correspondence relationship with the customer C1, thecustomer C2, the customer C3, and the administrator A. Here, it isassumed that a person in charge B1 is extracted as the person in chargehaving a correspondence relationship with the customer C1, the customerC2, and the customer C3, and that a person in charge B2 is extracted asthe person in charge having a correspondence relationship with thecustomer C1.

Because a plurality of persons in charge are associated with thecustomer C1, in order to avoid the simultaneous distribution messagefrom being redundantly sent, a process of selecting the person in chargeis executed.

In step S1203, the message processing unit 122 selects either one of theperson in charge B1 or the person in charge B2 as the transmissionsource of the simultaneous distribution message addressed to thecustomer C1. For example, the message processing unit 122 may refer tothe message management table 134, identify the person in charge who hasperformed transmission/reception of the newest message with the customerC1, and select the identified person in charge.

Furthermore, the message processing unit 122 may refer to the messagemanagement table 134, calculate the frequency of sending and receivingmessages between the customer C1 and the person in charge B1 and thefrequency of sending and receiving messages between the customer C1 andthe person in charge B2 within a predetermined period, and select theperson in charge having the higher frequency of sending and receivingmessages.

Here, it is assumed that the person in charge B1 has been selected.

In step S1204, the message processing unit 122 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 instructs the communication control unit 110 tosend a signal of a query as to whether the simultaneous distributionmessage addressed to the customer C1, the customer C2, and the customerC3 can be sent, and a signal of a query as to whether the information ofthe transmission source can be changed to the person in charge B1. Thecommunication control unit 110 sends the signals of queries to theterminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1.

In step S1205, when the terminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1receives the signals of queries, the display control unit 231 displaysmessages prompting to determine whether “can the simultaneousdistribution message be sent to the customer C1, the customer C2, andthe customer C3” and “can the information of the transmission source bechanged to the person in charge B1”, on the screen of the terminal 20B1.

In step S1206, in response to the accepting unit 220 accepting inputindicating “the simultaneous distribution message can be sent to thecustomer C1, the customer C2, and the customer C3” and input indicating“the transmission source can be changed” from the person in charge B1,the setting request unit 232 instructs the communication control unit210 to send these input contents as a response, to the informationprocessing apparatus 10. The communication control unit 210 sends theresponse to the information processing apparatus 10. Here, the person incharge B1 may select the customers to be the transmission destinationsof the simultaneous distribution message. For example, the person incharge B1 may not select a customer, who does not need the message to bedelivered, as a destination.

In step S1207, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the response, the messageprocessing unit 122 changes the information of the transmission sourceof the simultaneous distribution message addressed to the customer C1,the customer C2, and the customer C3, to the person in charge B1.Furthermore, the message processing unit 122 stores the information ofthe sent message, in the message management table 134. Here, in thefield of the transmission source, the user of the terminal 20A thatactually sent the message, i.e., the identifier of the administrator A,is set.

In step S1208, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to send the simultaneous distributionmessage, for which the information of the transmission source has beenchanged, to the terminal 20C1 of the customer C1. Upon receiving theinstruction, the communication control unit 110 sends the simultaneousdistribution message, for which the information of the transmissionsource has been changed, to the terminal 20C1 of the customer C1.

In step S1209, when the communication control unit 210 of the terminal20C1 of the customer C1 receives the simultaneous distribution message,the display control unit 231 displays the received simultaneousdistribution message on the screen of the terminal 20C1.

In steps S1210 through S1213, the same procedures as those of stepsS1208 and S1209 are executed with respect to the terminal 20C2 of thecustomer C2 and the terminal 20C3 of the customer C3.

In FIG. 12A, a description is given of operation procedures in which themessage sent from the terminal 20A of the administrator A issimultaneously distributed to the terminals 20C of the customers;however, a message sent from the terminal 20B of the person in chargemay be simultaneously distributed. FIG. 12B illustrates operationprocedures performed when simultaneously distributing a message sentfrom the terminal 20 of the person in charge.

In step S1220, in response to the accepting unit 220 of the terminal20B1 of the person in charge B1 receiving input of a simultaneousdistribution message with respect to a customer with whom the person incharge has a correspondence relationship, the communication control unit210 sends the simultaneous distribution message to the informationprocessing apparatus 10.

In step S1221, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the simultaneousdistribution message, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and identifies theadministrator with whom the person in charge B1 has a correspondencerelationship. Here, it is assumed that the administrator A isidentified.

In step S1222, the message processing unit 122 sends a signal confirmingwhether the simultaneous distribution message can be sent, to theterminal 20A of the administrator A via the information processingapparatus 10.

In step S1223, the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A accepts input indicating to allow the transmission ofthe simultaneous distribution message. Here, the accepting unit 220 mayspecify the distribution destination of the simultaneous distributionmessage.

In step S1224, the communication control unit 210 of the terminal 20A ofthe administrator A sends a response indicating to allow thetransmission of the simultaneous distribution message, to theinformation processing apparatus 10.

The subsequent procedures are the same as those of steps S1202 throughS1213.

(3) Operation Procedures Relevant to Viewing

With reference to FIG. 13, a description is given of operationprocedures of viewing messages between the terminal 20B of the person incharge B and the terminal 20C of the customer C, from the terminal 20Aof the administrator A. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of operationprocedures according to the first embodiment (part 4).

In step S1301, messages are sent and received between the terminal 20Cof the customer C and the terminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1, viathe information processing apparatus 10. The messages that are sent andreceived are stored in the message management table 134.

In step S1302, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A accepts a request to view messages between the person incharge B and the customer C, from the administrator A, the settingrequest unit 232 instructs the communication control unit 210 to send aviewing request to the information processing apparatus 10. Thecommunication control unit 210 sends the viewing request to theinformation processing apparatus 10. The viewing request includes theperson in charge and the customer who are the targets of viewingmessages. Here, it is assumed that the viewing request includes theidentifier of the person in charge B1 and the identifier of the customerC.

In step S1303, when the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives the viewing request, thedisplay control unit 123 refers to the message management table 134, andidentifies the messages sent and received between the person in chargeB1 and the customer C.

In step S1304, the display control unit 123 instructs, via thecommunication control unit 110, the terminal 20A of the administrator Ato display the messages sent and received between the person in chargeB1 and the customer C. The display control unit 231 of the terminal 20Aof the administrator A receives the instruction, and displays themessages sent and received between the person in charge B1 and thecustomer C, on the screen of the terminal 20A.

Accordingly, the administrator is able to view the contents of themessages sent and received between the customer and the person incharge, and confirm the status with the customer.

The administrator may view the contents of the messages and respond tothe messages on behalf of the person in charge. In this case, theprocedures of steps S1305 and S1306 are executed (option 1 in FIG. 13).

In step S1305, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A accepts input of a message, the communication controlunit 210 sends the input message to the information processing apparatus10.

In step S1306, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the message, the messageprocessing unit 122 changes the information of the transmission sourceof the message to the person in charge B1. Furthermore, the messageprocessing unit 122 stores the information of the sent message in themessage management table 134.

In step S1307, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to send the message to the terminal 20Cof the customer C. Upon receiving the instruction, the communicationcontrol unit 110 sends the message to the terminal 20C of the customerC.

Accordingly, even when the person in charge is on vacation, on abusiness trip, etc., and cannot respond to messages from the customer ina timely manner, it is possible to send messages from the terminal 20Aof the administrator.

Furthermore, the administrator may set a different person in charge as asubstitute person in charge, and the different person in charge mayrespond to the messages. In this case, the procedures of steps S1308through S1313 are executed (option 2 of FIG. 13).

In step S1308, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A accepts a request for a substitute setting, the settingrequest unit 232 instructs the communication control unit 210 to send asubstitute setting request to the information processing apparatus 10.The substitute setting request includes information for identifying thesubstitute person in charge. Here, it is assumed that the person incharge B2 is set as the substitute person in charge of the person incharge B1.

In step S1309, when the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives the substitute settingrequest, the state update unit 124 sets the person in charge B2 as thesubstitute person in charge of the person in charge B1, in the field ofthe “substitute person in charge” in the state management table 133.

In step S1310, upon receiving the instruction from the state update unit124, the communication control unit 110 of the information processingapparatus 10 reports “has been set as substitute of person in chargeB1”, to the terminal 20B2 of the person in charge B2.

In step S1311, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20B2 of theperson in charge B2 accepts input of a message to be sent on behalf ofthe person in charge B1, the communication control unit 210 sends theaccepted message to the information processing apparatus 10. Thismessage includes information indicating that the message is addressed tothe customer C, and that the message is being sent on behalf of theperson in charge B1.

In step S1312, when the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives a message from the terminal20B2 of the person in charge B2, the state update unit 124 refers to thestate management table 133, and confirms that the person in charge B2 isset as the substitute person in charge of the person in charge B1. Next,the message processing unit 122 confirms the correspondence relationshipmanagement table 131, and changes the information of the transmissionsource of the message to the information of the person in charge B1.

In step S1313, upon receiving an instruction from the message processingunit 122, the communication control unit 110 sends the message for whichthe transmission source has been changed, to the terminal 20C of thecustomer C.

Accordingly, even when the person in charge is on vacation, on abusiness trip, etc., and cannot respond to messages from the customer ina timely manner, it is possible to send messages from the terminal 20 ofa different person in charge.

(5) Operation Procedures Relevant to State Report

With reference to FIG. 14, a description is given of the procedures ofreporting the state by the terminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1.FIG. 14 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 5).

In step S1401, the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20B1 of the personin charge B1 accepts the state of the person in charge B1. Here, thestate of the person in charge is, on duty, on break, on vacation, etc.

In step S1402, the setting request unit 232 instructs the communicationcontrol unit 210 to report the accepted state to the informationprocessing apparatus 10. Upon receiving the instruction, thecommunication control unit 210 reports the accepted state to theinformation processing apparatus 10.

In step S1403, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the report of the statefrom the terminal 20B1, the state update unit 124 instructs the statemanagement table 133 to store the received state of the person in chargeB1.

In step S1404, the state update unit 124 instructs the communicationcontrol unit 110 to report the state of the person in charge B1 to theterminal 20A of the administrator A. Upon receiving the instruction, thecommunication control unit 110 reports the state of the person in chargeB1 to the terminal 20A of the administrator A. Furthermore, the displaycontrol unit 123 of the information processing apparatus 10 may changethe display mode of the icon, etc., of the person in charge B1 in thescreen of the terminal 20A of the administrator A, according to thestate of the person in charge B1. Accordingly, the administrator is ableto appropriately recognize the status of the person in charge.

Note that the state of the person in charge may be changed after beingallowed by the administrator. In this case, the terminal 20A of theadministrator A receives a state change request from the terminal 20B1of the person in charge B1, via the information processing apparatus 10.After the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of the administrator Aaccepts permission to change the state from the administrator, thecommunication control unit 210 sends a report indicating that the changeof state is allowed to the information processing apparatus 10, and thestate is changed.

According to the state of the person in charge B1, the administrator Ahimself may send a message to the customer C of the person in charge B1on behalf of the person in charge B1, or may set a substitute person incharge. The procedures of sending a message by the administrator himselfon behalf of the person in charge B1 are indicated as option 1 (stepsS1405 through S1407) in FIG. 14. Furthermore, the procedures of settinga substitute person in charge and sending a message are indicated asoption 2 (steps S1408 through S1413) in FIG. 14. These procedures arethe same as those of steps S1305 through S1313, and thereforedescriptions are omitted. For example, in a state where the person incharge is unable to respond to messages from the customer C, theoperations of option 1 or option 2 described above are executed.

By using the operation procedures of FIG. 14, the terminal 20A of theadministrator A becomes capable of receiving a report of the state ofthe person in charge. Accordingly, when the person in charge is unableto respond to customers, the administrator A is able to send messages onbehalf of the person in charge from the terminal 20A of theadministrator A, and is able to set a substitute person in charge of theperson in charge B1.

(6) Operation Procedures Relevant to Deleting CorrespondenceRelationship of Person in Charge and Administrator

With reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B, a description is given of operationprocedures relevant to deleting the correspondence relationship of theperson in charge and the administrator. FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate anexample of operation procedures according to the first embodiment (part6).

In step S1501, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a request to delete the correspondencerelationship, from the terminal 20A of the administrator A. The requestto delete the correspondence relationship includes the identifier of theperson in charge for whom the correspondence relationship with theadministrator A is to be deleted. Here, in the following, thedescription is continued assuming that the identifier of the person incharge B is included in the delete request.

In step S1502, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 deletesthe correspondence relationship of the person in charge B, theadministrator A, and the customer C, from the correspondencerelationship management table 131. At this time, the correspondencerelationship of the administrator A and the customer C remains to becontinuously stored in the correspondence relationship management table131.

A description is given of the method of processing a message addressedto a person in charge for whom the correspondence relationship has beendeleted.

In step S1503, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to the person incharge B, from the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1504, the message processing unit 122 confirms that in thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, the person in charge Band the customer C are not associated with each other, and that thecustomer C and the administrator A are associated with each other.

In step S1505, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to transfer the message received from theterminal 20C of the customer C, to the terminal 20A of the administratorA. Furthermore, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to also report that the message beingtransferred is a message addressed to the person in charge B for whomthe correspondence relationship has been deleted. The communicationcontrol unit 110 sends the message and a report that the message isaddressed to the person in charge B for whom the correspondencerelationship has been deleted, to the terminal 20A of the administratorA.

In step S1506, in response to the communication control unit 210 of theterminal 20A of the administrator A receiving the message and the reportthat the message is addressed to the person in charge B for whom thecorrespondence relationship has been deleted, the display control unit231 displays the received message, etc., on the screen of the terminal20. Accordingly, the administrator A is able to perform appropriateactions such as sending a response to the message on behalf of theperson in charge B.

A description is given of a method of processing a message from theterminal 20B of the person in charge for whom the correspondencerelationship has been deleted.

In step S1507, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to the customer C,from the terminal 20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1508, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and confirms that theperson in charge B and the customer C do not have a correspondencerelationship.

In step S1509, the message processing unit 122 instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to send a report indicating that themessage cannot be sent because there is no correspondence relationship.Upon receiving the instruction, the communication control unit 110 sendsa report indicating that the message cannot be sent, to the terminal 20Bof the person in charge B.

Note that in the case where a talk room is activated for viewingmessages exchanged with the customer C, at the terminal 20B of theperson in charge B, similarly, the information processing apparatus 10sends a report indicating that the messages cannot be viewed, becausethere is no correspondence relationship.

As described above, the information processing apparatus 10 does notallow messages to be sent and received by a person in charge for whomthe correspondence relationship has been deleted. Therefore, when theperson in charge is no longer a member of the organization to which hebelonged due to resignation, etc., it is possible to appropriatelyprotect the contact addresses of customers, the status of sending andreceiving messages, etc., which are trade secrets of the organization.

Note that in the above operation procedures, a description is given of amethod of sending a request to delete the correspondence relationship bythe terminal 20A of the administrator A in step S1501; however, thedeletion request may be sent from the terminal 20B of the person incharge B. In this case, similar to the above operation procedures, thecorrespondence relationship of the administrator A and the person incharge B is deleted, and the terminal 20B of the person in charge Bbecomes unable to send and receive messages with the terminal 20C of thecustomer C. Next, a description is given of a method of deleting amessage from the terminal 20B of the person in charge for whom thecorrespondence relationship has been deleted. In the above operationprocedures, it is possible to prevent new messages from being sent andreceived between the person in charge and the customer for whom thecorrespondence relationship has been deleted; however, the messages thathave already been sent and received with the customer remain to bestored in the terminal 20B of the person in charge, and therefore it maynot be preferable in terms of managing trade secrets, etc. Thus, uponreceiving an instruction from the terminal 20A of the administrator,operation procedures of deleting messages from the terminal 20B of theperson in charge, may be executed.

With reference to FIG. 15B, a description is given of operationprocedures of deleting messages from the terminal of the person incharge.

In step S1520, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a request to delete messages from theterminal 20B of the person in charge B, from the terminal 20A of theadministrator A.

In step S1521, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 refersto the correspondence relationship management table 131, and confirmsthat the correspondence relationship of the administrator A and theperson in charge B has been deleted. The correspondence relationshipsetting unit 121 instructs the communication control unit 110 to send aprogram for deleting messages to the terminal 20B of the person incharge B. The program for deleting messages has a function of deletingmessages from the terminal 20. Here, it is assumed that the program fordeleting messages has a setting for deleting messages that have beensent and received between the customer C and the person in charge B, whohave a correspondence relationship with the administrator A.

In step S1522, the communication control unit 110 sends the program fordeleting messages to the terminal 20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1523, when the communication control unit 210 of the terminal20B of the person in charge B receives the program for deletingmessages, the program for deleting messages is activated in the terminal20B, and the messages sent and received between the customer C and theperson in charge B are deleted.

Here, the timing of sending the program for deleting messages may be setby the information processing apparatus 10 upon receiving an instructionfrom the terminal 20A of the administrator A. For example, a setting maybe made such that the program is activated at a timing when acorrespondence relationship of the person in charge B and a newadministrator is set.

After deleting the messages, the communication control unit 210 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives a report indicating thatthe deletion of messages has been completed, from the terminal 20B ofthe person in charge B.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the administrator with which acorrespondence relationship has been newly set, from viewing themessages sent and received between the person in charge B and thecustomer during the period when there was a correspondence relationshipwith the administrator A.

Note that the procedure of step S1520 may be executed together with theprocedure of step S1501.

In the operation procedures described above, the program for deletingmessages is sent to the terminal 20B of the person in charge and themessages are deleted from the terminal 20B; however, a setting may bemade such that the message cannot be viewed by the administrator withwhom a correspondence relationship is newly set.

In this case, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 stores the time and date when thecorrespondence relationship with the new administrator has been set, inthe correspondence relationship management table 131. Then, when arequest to view messages is received from the terminal 20 of the newadministrator, the display control unit 123 displays only the messagesfrom and after the time and date when the correspondence relationshiphas been set, on the terminal 20 of the new administrator.

(7) Operation Procedures Relevant to Activating Service Provided byOrganization to which User Belongs

With reference to FIG. 16, a description is given of operationprocedures relevant to activating a service provided by an organizationto which a user belongs.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of operation procedures according to thefirst embodiment (part 7).

In step S1601, a talk room #1 is activated at the terminal 20C of thecustomer C and the terminal 20B of the person in charge B, and messagesare sent and received.

In step S1602, the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20B of the personin charge B accepts an instruction to display the service informationprovided by the organization to which the person in charge belongs. Theinstruction to display the information includes information identifyingthe terminal 20 on which the service information is to be displayed.Here, in the following, the description is continued assuming that aninstruction to display the service information on the terminal 20C ofthe customer C is accepted.

In step S1603, the setting request unit 232 of the terminal 20B of theperson in charge B instructs the communication control unit 210 to sendthe accepted request to display the service information to theinformation processing apparatus 10. Upon receiving the instruction, thecommunication control unit 210 sends the request to display the serviceinformation, to the information processing apparatus 10. The request todisplay the service information includes information for identifying thecustomer C that is the display destination.

In step S1604, when the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 accepts the request to display theservice information, the display control unit 123 confirms the serviceinformation storage table 135, and identifies the service information ofthe organization to which the person in charge B belongs.

For example, when the person in charge is a hair stylist and theorganization to which the person in charge belongs is a hair salon, areservation menu, the service fees, etc., of the hair salon are storedin the service information storage table 135 as the service information.For example, when the person in charge is a real estate salesperson, andthe organization to which the person in charge belongs is a real estateagency, information of the properties being handled, a visitingreservation menu, etc., are stored in the service information storagetable 135 as service information.

In step S1605, the display control unit 123 reports the identifiedservice information to the terminal 20C of the customer C via thecommunication control unit 110, and also displays the serviceinformation on the terminal 20C.

In step S1606, the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20C of thecustomer C accepts a selection with respect to the displayed serviceinformation.

In step S1607, the communication control unit 210 of the terminal 20C ofthe customer C reports the selected service information to theinformation processing apparatus 10.

In step S1608, in response to the report of the selected serviceinformation, the control unit 120 of the information processingapparatus 10 provides the corresponding service. For example, when“service fee” is selected, the display control unit 123 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 displays information such asdetailed service fees, coupons, etc. For example, when “reservation” isselected, the display control unit 123 of the information processingapparatus 10 displays the time periods in which reservations can be madein a selectable state, on the terminal 20C of the customer C.

When the corresponding service is provided by another informationprocessing apparatus, the information relevant to the selected servicemay be reported to another information processing apparatus, or theconnection destination of another information processing apparatus maybe reported to the terminal 20C of the customer C.

Accordingly, it is possible to realize a smooth shift to providing theservice in the information processing apparatus 10, from chats in thetalk room.

Note that the service provided by the organization to which a userbelongs, may be expressed as a service provided by the administrator.This is because, when the administrator is the business manager or theresponsible person of the organization to which a user belongs, theservice provided by the organization is substantially the same as theservice provided by the administrator.

(8) Operation Procedures Relevant to Simultaneously Sending andReceiving Message

In the “operation procedures relevant to viewing” described withreference to FIG. 13, the messages sent and received between the personin charge and the customer are viewed by the administrator and theperson in charge set as the substitute person in charge, with the use ofthe message management table 134 of the information processing apparatus10. The operation procedures of FIGS. 17A through 17C are characterizedin that the terminal 20B of the person in charge and the terminal 20A ofthe administrator simultaneously send and receive messages. FIGS. 17Athrough 17C illustrate an example of operation procedures according tothe first embodiment (part 8).

FIG. 17A illustrates operation procedures in which the messages sent andreceived between the terminal 20C of the customer C and the terminal 20Bof the person in charge B are simultaneously sent to the terminal 20A ofthe administrator A as well.

First, a description is given of operation procedures of sending amessage addressed to the terminal 20B of the person in charge B by theterminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1701, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to the person incharge B, from the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1702, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and identifies theadministrator of the person in charge B. Here, it is assumed that theadministrator A has been identified. The message processing unit 122instructs the communication control unit 110 to send the messageaddressed to the person in charge B received from the customer C, to theterminal 20B of the person in charge B and the terminal 20A of theadministrator A.

In step S1703, the communication control unit 110 sends the messageaddressed to the person in charge B from the customer C, to the terminal20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1704, the communication control unit 110 sends the messageaddressed to the person in charge B from the customer C, to the terminal20A of the administrator A.

Next, a description is given of operation procedures in which theterminal 20B of the person in charge B sends a message to the terminal20C of the customer C.

In step S1705, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to the customer Cfrom the terminal 20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1706, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and identifies theadministrator of the person in charge B. Here, it is assumed that theadministrator A is identified. The message processing unit 122 instructsthe communication control unit 110 to send the message addressed to thecustomer C received from the person in charge B, to the terminal 20C ofthe customer C and the terminal 20A of the administrator A.

In step S1707, the communication control unit 110 sends the messageaddressed to the customer C from the person in charge B, to the terminal20C of the customer C.

In step S1708, the communication control unit 110 sends the messageaddressed to the customer C from the person in charge B, to the terminal20A of the administrator A.

Accordingly, the administrator is able to confirm the sending andreceiving status of messages between the customer and the person incharge, in a timely manner.

FIG. 17B illustrates operation procedures in which the messages are alsosimultaneously sent to another person in charge, in addition to theadministrator.

In step S1720, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a request for substitute setting, fromthe terminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1. The request for substitutesetting includes the identifier of the person in charge to be set as thesubstitute person in charge (person in charge B2).

In step S1721, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 refersto the correspondence relationship management table 131, and identifiesthe administrator of the person in charge B1. Here, it is assumed thatthe administrator A is identified.

In step S1722, upon receiving the instruction from the correspondencerelationship setting unit 121, the communication control unit 110 sendsa signal of a query as to whether the substitute setting is possible, tothe terminal 20A of the administrator A.

In step S1723, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A accepts input that substitute setting is possible, thecommunication control unit 210 sends a response indicating thatsubstitute setting is possible, to the information processing apparatus10.

In step S1724, upon receiving the instruction from the correspondencerelationship setting unit 121, the communication control unit 110 sendsa signal of a query as to whether the substitute setting is possible, tothe terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1725, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20C of thecustomer C accepts input that substitute setting is possible, thecommunication control unit 210 sends a response indicating thatsubstitute setting is possible, to the information processing apparatus10.

In step S1726, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 stores acorrespondence relationship of the administrator A, the person in chargeB1, the person in charge B2, and the customer C, in the correspondencerelationship management table 131. Furthermore, the state update unit124 may store the setting of the substitute person in charge, in thestate management table 133.

In step S1727, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to the person incharge B1, from the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1728, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and identifies thetransmission destination of the message.

In step S1729, upon receiving the instruction from the messageprocessing unit 122, the communication control unit 110 sends themessage addressed to the person in charge B1 from the customer C, to theterminal 20B1 of the person in charge B1.

In step S1730, upon receiving the instruction from the messageprocessing unit 122, the communication control unit 110 sends themessage addressed to the person in charge B1 from the customer C, to theterminal 20B2 of the person in charge B2.

In step S1731, upon receiving the instruction from the messageprocessing unit 122, the communication control unit 110 sends themessage addressed to the person in charge B1 from the customer C, to theterminal 20A of the administrator A.

FIG. 17C illustrates operation procedures in which a message from theperson in charge is sent to the customer after being confirmed by theadministrator. In step S1740, the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receives a message addressed to thecustomer C from the terminal 20B of the person in charge B.

In step S1741, the message processing unit 122 refers to thecorrespondence relationship management table 131, and identifies theadministrator of the person in charge B. Here, it is assumed that theadministrator A is identified. The message processing unit 122determines that permission for transmission from the administrator A isnecessary, before sending the message to the terminal 20C of thecustomer C, and instructs the communication control unit 110 to send asignal of a query as to whether the message can be sent, to the terminal20A of the administrator A.

In step S1742, upon receiving the instruction, the communication controlunit 110 sends a signal of a query as to whether the message can besent, to the terminal 20A of the administrator A. This signal includesthe contents of the message.

In step S1743, when input for allowing the transmission of the messageis accepted by the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A, the communication control unit 210 sends a response ofallowing the transmission of the message, to the information processingapparatus 10.

In step S1744, upon receiving the instruction from the messageprocessing unit 122, the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 sends the message to the terminal20C of the customer C.

By executing the procedures of FIG. 17C, the administrator is able toconfirm the message from the person in charge to the customer, beforedistribution of the message.

The procedures of FIG. 17C are executed when sending and receivingmessages; however, these procedures may be executed when sending acontent such as a stamp, a still image, a video, etc., from the terminal20B of the person in charge B to the terminal 20C of the customer C.Accordingly, it is possible to confirm at the terminal 20A of theadministrator A as to whether the organization, to which theadministrator and the person in charge belong, has the authority todistribute the content, before distributing the content, and to allowdistribution only when the organization has the authority.

(9) Transmission of Content

As described above, the content, which the administrator and the personin charge are allowed to use, may be shared with the customer, when theadministrator, the person in charge, and the customer have acorrespondence relationship. For example, when the administrator has acontent such as the stamp, etc., of the organization to which theadministrator belongs, the content may be shared with a customer and theorganization can be advertised to the customer.

With reference to FIG. 18, a description is given of operationprocedures of sending a content. FIG. 18 illustrates an example ofoperation procedures according to the first embodiment (part 9).

In step S1801, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a request to display a list ofcontents, from the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1802, the display control unit 123 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 refers to the content management table 136, andidentifies contents that can be used by the customer C and the person incharge B and the administrator A who have a correspondence relationshipwith the customer C. The display control unit 123 instructs the terminal20C to display the list of identified contents, via the communicationcontrol unit 110.

In step S1803, in response to the communication control unit 210 of theterminal 20C of the customer C receiving the instruction, the displaycontrol unit 231 displays the list of contents on the screen of theterminal 20C.

In step S1804, in response to the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20Cof the customer C accepting a selection of a content from the displayedlist of contents, the communication control unit 210 sends a request toacquire the content, to the information processing apparatus 10.

In step S1805, the display control unit 123 identifies the contentspecified in the request to acquire the content, and instructs thecommunication control unit 110 to send the content.

In step S1806, the communication control unit 110 sends the content tothe terminal 20C of the customer C.

(10) Selection of Person in Charge

In the embodiment described above, a description is given of operationprocedures of setting a correspondence relationship with theadministrator, when the customer and the person in charge are associatedwith each other. Also in a case where the administrator and the customerare associated with each other, a correspondence relationship with theperson in charge can be set by performing the same procedures as above.These procedures are assumed to be executed when, for example, thecustomer becomes a member of the organization to which the administratorbelongs, and a new person in charge is set.

With reference to FIG. 19, a description is given of operationprocedures of selecting a person in charge. FIG. 19 illustrates anexample of operation procedures according to the first embodiment (part10).

In step S1901, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a request to set a correspondencerelationship from the terminal 20C of the customer C.

In step S1902, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 refersto the correspondence relationship management table 131, and identifiesthat the customer C is associated with the administrator A.

In step S1903, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 extractsthe person in charge who is associated with the administrator A. Thecorrespondence relationship setting unit 121 reports that a request toset a correspondence relationship has been received from the customer Cto the terminal 20A of the administrator A, via the communicationcontrol unit 110. Furthermore, the list of extracted persons in chargeis also reported to the terminal 20A of the administrator A.

In step S1904, upon receiving the report from the information processingapparatus 10, the display control unit 231 of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A displays the list of extracted persons in charge on ascreen, and also displays a report that the request to set acorrespondence relationship has been received from the customer C, onthe screen. The accepting unit 220 accepts input of permission to set acorrespondence relationship and a selection of one or more candidatepersons in charge from the list of extracted persons in charge.

In step S1905, the communication control unit 110 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 receives a message of permission to set acorrespondence relationship, and the candidate persons in charge, fromthe terminal 20A of the administrator A.

In step S1906, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 reports the candidate persons incharge to the terminal 20C of the customer C, via the communicationcontrol unit 110.

In step S1907, when the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20C of thecustomer C accepts a selection of a person in charge from the candidatepersons in charge, the communication control unit 110 reports theselected person in charge to the information processing apparatus 10,based on an instruction from the setting request unit 232.

In step S1908, in response to the communication control unit 110 of theinformation processing apparatus 10 receiving the correspondencerelationship, the correspondence relationship setting unit 121 storesthe customer, the person in charge, and the administrator in associationwith each other, in the correspondence relationship management table131.

In the above-described operation procedures, the administrator A selectsthe candidate persons in charge; however, this procedure may be omitted,and the list of persons in charge extracted by the informationprocessing apparatus 10 may be reported to the terminal 20C of thecustomer C. Furthermore, the list of persons in charge may be sortedaccording to attributes of the customer C (age, gender, etc.), and thesorted list may be displayed on the terminal 20C of the customer C.

<Screen Display>

With reference to FIGS. 20A through 24, a description is given of screendisplays of the terminal 20 according to the first embodiment.

(1) Screen Display of Talk Room and Service Menu

With reference to FIGS. 20A through 20C, a description is given ofscreen displays when messages are sent and received between the terminal20B of the person in charge B and the terminal 20C of the customer C, ina talk room in which the administrator A, the person in charge B, and acustomer C have a correspondence relationship. FIGS. 20A through 20Cillustrate examples of screen displays of the terminal 20 according tothe first embodiment (part 1).

FIGS. 20A through 20C illustrate screen displays of the terminal 20,when messages, which are sent and received between the terminal 20B ofthe person in charge B and the terminal 20C of the customer C, areviewed by the terminal 20A of the administrator A, in the operationprocedures of FIG. 13.

FIG. 20A illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20Aof the administrator A. Messages sent and received in the talk room aredisplayed. Messages (400B, 401B) sent from the person in charge B aredisplayed together with the icon 30B and the user name (person in chargeB) of the person in charge B. Furthermore, the messages and still imagecontents (400C, 401C, 402C) sent from the customer C are displayedtogether with an icon 30C and a user name (customer C) of the customerC. Messages (400A, 401A) sent from the administrator A are sent fromhimself, and are thus not displayed together with an icon or a user name(administrator A).

The messages of the person in charge B and the messages of the customerC are displayed together with icons 30 and user names, and the messagesof the administrator A are not displayed together with an icon or a username, and therefore the administrator can easily confirm the transmitterof a message.

On the screen of the terminal 20, a service menu 50, which isinformation of a service provided by the organization to which theadministrator and the person in charge belong, is displayed. As thetitle of the talk room, “XXX HAIR SALON: PERSON IN CHARGE B CUSTOMER C(70A)” is set.

FIG. 20B illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20Bof the person in charge B. The parts that are different from FIG. 20Aare mainly described. The messages and still image contents (400C, 401C,402C) sent from the customer C are displayed together with the icon 30Cand the user name (customer C) of the customer C. In FIG. 20B, themessages (400A, 401A) sent from the administrator A are not displayedtogether with an icon or a user name; however, these messages may bedisplayed together with an icon, etc.

FIG. 20C illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20Cof the customer C. The parts that are different from FIGS. 20A and 20Bare mainly described. The messages (400B, 401B) sent from the person incharge B and the messages (400A, 401A) sent from the administrator A aredisplayed on the left side of the screen. The messages and still imagecontents (400C, 401C, 402C) sent from the customer C are displayed onthe right side of the screen. In the example of the display screen ofFIG. 20C, the messages from the person in charge B and the messages fromthe administrator A are not distinguished from each other in the displayscreen. These messages are recognized as messages from the person incharge B, by the customer C.

In the examples of FIGS. 20A through 20C, as the messages from theadministrator A, general information (message 401A) relevant to the XXXhair salon that is the organization to which the administrator Abelongs, and a fixed phrase prompting the customer to come to the salon(message 400A) are sent. As messages from the person in charge B,specific responses (messages 400B, 401B) to queries from the customerare sent. As described above, the tasks of creating the messages sentfrom the terminal 20A of the administrator A and the messages sent fromthe terminal 20B of the person in charge B are divided between theadministrator A and the person in charge B, and therefore it is possibleto reduce the load of both parties while providing detailed advice,etc., to the customer.

As illustrated in FIG. 20C, at the bottom part of the display screen ofthe terminal 20C of the customer, the service menu 50 is displayed. Whenthe accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20C accepts a selection from theservice menu 50, the terminal 20C of the customer C is connected to theinformation processing apparatus 10 providing the service menu, and thecustomer C is able to receive the selected service provided from theinformation processing apparatus 10. In the following, the descriptionis continued assuming that “reservation” has been selected from theservice menu 50 in FIG. 20C.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20according to the first embodiment (part 2). FIG. 21 illustrates adisplay screen of the terminal 20C, when providing a service of theservice menu 50 selected by the terminal 20C of the customer C. FIG. 21is displayed on the screen of the terminal 20C, when executing theoperation procedures relevant to activating a service provided by anorganization to which a user belongs illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 21 illustrates a reservation menu being displayed on the screen ofthe terminal 20C. When the accepting unit 220 of the terminal 20Caccepts a selection of a desired time and date, a reservation request issent from the communication control unit 210 to the informationprocessing apparatus 10, and a process relevant to a reservation isexecuted.

(2) Screen Display when Selecting a View Destination

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate examples of screen displays of the terminal20 according to the first embodiment (part 3). With reference to FIGS.22A and 22B, a description is given of screen displays of the terminal20A of the administrator A when selecting a view destination.

In step S1302 of FIG. 13, the procedure of accepting a selection of thetalk room to be viewed from the administrator A, by the accepting unit220 of the terminal 20A of the administrator A is described; a list oftalk rooms that can be selected at this step may be displayed on thescreen of the terminal 20A.

FIG. 22A illustrates a list of talk rooms, which can be viewed by theadministrator A of the terminal 20A, being displayed in an orderaccording to persons in charge with whom the administrator A isassociated. Each talk room is displayed together with the name of theperson in charge, the icon 30B of the person in charge, the name of thecustomer, the icon 30C of the customer, and the newest message. Thenewest message is displayed together with the time and date when themessage is sent and received.

FIG. 22B illustrates a list of talk rooms, which can be viewed by theadministrator A of the terminal 20A, being displayed in chronologicalorder according to the time when the messages associated with theadministrator have been sent and received. The information displayed inthe list of talk rooms are the same as that of FIG. 22A.

(3) Screen Display of Selecting Person in Charge

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20according to the first embodiment (part 4). With reference to FIG. 23, adescription is given of a screen display of the terminal 20A of theadministrator A when associating a person in charge to the customer C.

In step S1904 of FIG. 19, an operation of the display control unit 231of the terminal 20A of the administrator A displaying a list ofextracted persons in charge on the screen of the terminal 20A, isdescribed. FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a screen display of theterminal 20A at this step. As information of the target customer, theuser name and the icon 30C of the customer C, who is the user of theterminal 20C that has sent the association request, are displayed.Furthermore, the user names and icons 30B of the person in charge A, theperson in charge B, and the person in charge C are displayed ascandidate persons in charge.

(4) Screen Display of Terminal of Administrator

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of a screen display of the terminal 20according to the first embodiment (part 5). FIG. 24 illustrates anexample of a management menu of persons in charge, displayed on thescreen of the terminal 20A of the administrator.

When the administrator A is viewing the messages exchanged between theperson in charge B and the customer C, the messages sent and receivedbetween the person in charge B and the customer C are displayed in themessage display field 70.

When the accepting unit 220 accepts a selection from a talk room menu75, the display control unit 231 displays the selected talk room on thescreen of the terminal 20A. For example, when a selection of a talk roommenu 75A is accepted, a talk room with the customer “YY YY” and “XXXhair salon” is displayed on the terminal 20A.

Furthermore, when the state of the person in charge B is changed, thechanged state is displayed. For example, on vacation 77 indicates thatthe state of the person in charge B2 is on vacation.

[Other]

The administrator is an example of a first user. The person in charge isan example of a second user. The customer is an example of a third user.The information storage unit 130 is an example of a storage unit. Thecommunication control unit 110 is an example of a sending unit and areceiving unit.

A storage medium storing program codes of software for realizing thefunctions of the above-described embodiments may be supplied to theinformation processing apparatus 10. Then, the above embodiments may beachieved by having the information processing apparatus 10 read theprogram codes stored in the storage medium and executing the programcodes. In this case, the storage medium stores a program for causing theinformation processing apparatus 10 execute the above display controlmethod.

Specifically, the storage medium stores a program to be executed by theinformation processing apparatus, the program causing the informationprocessing apparatus to execute a step of storing a correspondencerelationship of a first user, a second user associated with the firstuser, and a third user associated with the second user; a step ofreceiving a message from the first user to the third user, from aterminal of the first user; and a step of sending the message receivedfrom the terminal of the first user as a message from the second user,to a terminal of the third user.

Then, the program codes read from the storage medium realize thefunctions according to the above-described embodiments.

Furthermore, a computer device executes the program codes that have beenread, and therefore not only the functions according to theabove-described embodiments realized. According to instructions of theprogram codes, an operating system (OS), etc., operating in the computerdevice may execute part of or all of the actual processes. Furthermore,the functions according to the above-described embodiments may berealized by these processes.

According to one embodiment, messages can be sent to a terminal in atimely manner.

The present invention is not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein, and variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The present application is based on and claims the benefit of priorityof Japanese Priority Patent Application No. 2015-250307, filed on Dec.22, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication control method for performing aprocess executed by a computer including a processor, the processcomprising: storing, in a storage device of an information processingapparatus, a correspondence relationship of a first user, a second userassociated with the first user, and a third user associated with thesecond user; receiving, at the information processing apparatus, amessage from the first user to the third user, from a terminal of thefirst user; and sending, by the information processing apparatus, themessage received from the terminal of the first user as a message fromthe second user, to a terminal of the third user.
 2. The communicationcontrol method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, atthe information processing apparatus, a request to associate the firstuser with the second user, from the terminal of the first user; andstoring, in the storage device of the information processing apparatus,an association of the first user and the second user.
 3. Thecommunication control method according to claim 2, further comprising:receiving, at the information processing apparatus, a request toassociate the second user with the third user, from the terminal of thethird user; and storing, in the storage device of the informationprocessing apparatus, an association of the second user and the thirduser, wherein after the association of the second user and the thirduser is stored, the correspondence relationship is stored.
 4. Thecommunication control method according to claim 1, further comprising:querying a terminal of the second user, by the information processingapparatus, as to whether the message received from the terminal of thefirst user can be sent as the message from the second user; andreceiving, at the information processing apparatus, a response ofapproval to the query, from the terminal of the second user, wherein thesending is executed after the response is received.
 5. The communicationcontrol method according to claim 1, wherein when the first user isassociated with a plurality of the second users, and the third user isassociated with a plurality of the second users, the informationprocessing apparatus sends the message received from the terminal of thefirst user, as the message from one of the plurality of the secondusers, to the terminal of the third user.
 6. The communication controlmethod according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving the messagefrom the first user at the terminal of the third user; and displayingthe message from the first user on a display device at the terminal ofthe third user, wherein the message from the first user is displayed ina same display mode as the message from the second user.
 7. Thecommunication control method according to claim 1, further comprising:receiving, at the information processing apparatus, a request to view amessage, from the terminal of the first user; and displaying, by theinformation processing apparatus, a message sent between the second userand the third user, on a display device at the terminal of the firstuser.
 8. The communication control method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying, by the information processing apparatus,information of a service provided by the first user, on a display deviceat the terminal of the third user, while a terminal of the second userand the terminal of the third user are communicating; and providing, bythe information processing apparatus, the service that has beenselected, to the terminal of the third user, in response to thedisplayed information of the service being selected.
 9. Thecommunication control method according to claim 1, further comprising:receiving, at the information processing apparatus, a request to deletean association of the first user and the second user from the terminalof the first user or a terminal of the second user; and deleting, by theinformation processing apparatus, a message sent between the second userand the third user, from the terminal of the second user.
 10. Thecommunication control method according to claim 1, further comprising:receiving, at the information processing apparatus, a state of thesecond user from a terminal of the second user; and reporting, by theinformation processing apparatus, the received state of the second userto the terminal of the first user.
 11. The communication control methodaccording to claim 10, further comprising: sending, by the informationprocessing apparatus, a message from the third user addressed to thesecond user, to the terminal of the first user, when the report, whichindicates that the second user is in the state of being unable torespond to a message, is received from the terminal of the second user.12. An information processing apparatus comprising: a processorconfigured to execute a process including storing, in a storage device,a correspondence relationship of a first user, a second user associatedwith the first user, and a third user associated with the second user;receiving a message from the first user to the third user, from aterminal of the first user; and sending the message received from theterminal of the first user as a message from the second user, to aterminal of the third user.
 13. A non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium storing a program that causes a computer including aprocessor to execute a process performed in an information processingapparatus, the process comprising: storing, in a storage device, acorrespondence relationship of a first user, a second user associatedwith the first user, and a third user associated with the second user;receiving a message from the first user to the third user, from aterminal of the first user; and sending the message received from theterminal of the first user as a message from the second user, to aterminal of the third user.